


Glue

by Happily_tommo87



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Assumptions, Comfort, Flashbacks, Friendship, Jealousy, Louis helps Harry, M/M, Panic Attacks, Touring, the x-factor - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 16:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14241276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happily_tommo87/pseuds/Happily_tommo87
Summary: One Direction is on tour. Something sets off Harry, causing him to freak out. He calls his one friend that is able to calm him down.Just a little one-shot I wrote a while back.





	Glue

"No, no, no, no, no. Fuck." The boy mumbled to himself, dropping his iPhone to the floor. He picked it up again, breath quickening as he retried to unlock it.

"Please!" he begged, talking to the electronic device like it would respond. He tried to calm himself, taking a deep breath and tried swiping the lit up symbol again. 

He whimpered when it didn't work, his hands too wet and his fingerprints being undetectable. The green eyed boy wiped at his face, placing a strand of hair that had fallen into his eyes behind his ear. 

With shaky hands he rubbed his right hand on his thigh and tried again. Circular numbers appeared on the glass screen. After unlocking the phone, he shook out his hand and went to the screen with his address book. Selecting the bottom name off his list of "favorites", he waited for the call to go through.

Another moment passed before the screen changed, showing that someone was on the other line. Giggling came through the phone's speaker as the boy lifted it to his ear.

"Hey Haz, where ya been mate? We were just about to send out a search party for ya!"

The line went silent, the caller on the other end waiting for a response.

"Haz? Ya there?"

"Lou..." The boy tried to speak, his voice getting caught in his throat.

"Harry? You alright?" Louis paused, yelling at someone in the background to quiet down.

"Louis, help." Harry mumbled, trying to continue breathing.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

"Help? What do you need help with, lad?" Louis asked, smacking at Liam who had ignored his previous request. "Fuck off Payno, somethings wrong with Haz. I can't hear 'im."

Louis left the room he was in, trying to find a quieter spot to hear the boy on the line. He stepped out into a hallway before trying a bathroom. Finding it empty, Louis began to speak again to Harry.

"Harry, where are you?" Louis asked calmly, eyes squinting as he tried to listen closely. He pressed his phone closer to his ear. He heard a couple ragged breaths before a quiet whimper.

"It's okay, love, just tell me where you are." Louis asked again, his voice going a bit raspier as he willed his pulse to slow.

The younger boy tried to respond, his voice catching again making him stutter over his first word. "I-I-I don't know. Don't know Lou."

Louis ran his fingers through his shaggy hair, lifting his face to the ceiling. "It's okay, babe, it's okay that you don't know where you are. I'll find you, it's alright."

Louis began to pace in the bathroom, face pinking as he tried not to panic. "Alright, Haz, keep taking those deep breaths for me, alright? That's a good lad, there we go, there we go."

Louis turned his head when he heard the bathroom door gently swing open, Liam's head poking through. 

"He alright?" Liam whispered.

Louis shook his head, a frown creeping up onto his face. "Harry, can you hear me?"

The quick breaths stopped, a small "Mmhmm..." coming through the phone speaker.

Liam walked all the way into the bathroom, holding the door so it would quietly close. He tiptoed over to Louis and leaned his head onto Louis' shoulder nearest the iPhone, both boys trying to hear their bandmate. 

"Did ya go outside at all to get where ya are?" Louis asked after a moment had passed.

"No." Harry mumbled, "Lou, 'm scared.

The breathing picked up again, making Louis jump to reassure the boy. "No, no, none of that. You're okay. It's gonna be alright, love, deep breaths again for me." 

Liam picked up his head off the older boy's shoulder. His face was etched with worry. "Panic attack? He hasn't had one of those for ages!"

Louis nodded, waving Liam off. The younger boy stood still, not wanting to leave Louis alone to handle Harry's anxiety. Liam shook his head, and whispered to Louis, "I want to help. I'll start poking around rooms to see if Harry is in any of them."

It was Louis' turn to ignore the other boy's words. He instead asked Harry, "Are there lights on where ya are, babe?" The blue eyed boy grabbed for Liam's shirt halting the other from leaving as he looked into brown eyes, repeating Harry's words for confirmation. "Okay, so y'are in a dark area. Can ya hear anything around ya, sweetheart?"

Liam cocked his head to the side at the overabundance in pet names. Whether Louis noticed Liam's actions or chose to ignore them, he kept talking to Harry, making sure to give clues to Liam without the other boy's knowledge. 

"No, that's a good sign, love, ya can't hear anything, it means I won't look anywhere that is noisy. It's very helpful, you're doing so well, Harry. You are doing a great job staying calm."

Louis let go of Liam and let him begin the search. 

"Harry, can ya remember seeing anything when ya were trying to find a quiet spot? Any people or colors or even stairs that ya took?" Louis asked, hand on the bathroom door, ready to bolt. 

"Stairs. I fell down stairs." Harry whispered.

Louis' voice raised a little, thinking the worst, "Ya fell? Are ya hurt? Harry, if you're hurt love, ya need to tell me right away. Are you bleeding? Where does it hurt?"

"'m fine, just my usual clumsiness..." Harry answered, voice still small, hesitating.

"Lou, I need you. Need you, to...to... hold me. He-he-help me. Like you used to..." Harry broke off, voice sounding strangled, thick and wet.

Louis raced out the bathroom door, running through the hallways of backstage. "Okay, I'm gonna find ya, love, I promise. Soon as I do, I'll hold ya. Ya know I'll take care of ya. Always. Don't cry, love, I hate it when ya cry."

Louis ran by a short hallway that had a set of stairs off to the left, only barely noticing them out of the corner of his eye in his haste to find his younger friend. They were slightly dark. He backtracked, keeping the phone to his ear as he headed towards the stairs.

*^*^*^*^*^*^

Harry pulled his legs closer to his body, tucking his head in between his knees as he held tight. His back was tensed as he waiting for Louis to find him.

"Babe," Louis interrupted the silence on the phone, sounding a tad out of breath, "should this ever happen again, and I hope it never does, but on the off chance that it does, be a dear and come find me instead of running, alright?"

Harry wiped at his face, fresh tears surfacing on his swollen eyelids. "I did though. You were busy."

Louis rolled his eyes, "Love, I haven't seen you since breakfast. You didn't even say anything to me." 

Harry's breathing became irregular again. "No, you were talking on the phone. You were talking to...to her..."

Louis sighed, a sinking feeling brewing in his belly. "Haz, I haven't spoken with her in ages..." The older boy trailed off, thinking of his other bandmate's previous words. 

He frowned. The last time Harry had a panic attack had been three years ago when Sammie had first met Louis.

{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}

Sammie had made Louis question every fiber of his being, and unbeknownst to Louis, cause a crack to be created in his and Harry's friendship. 

Up until meeting Sammie, Louis was 98% sure he was solely into guys. After meeting Sammie, that percentage went down to 47%.

Sammie had been the opposite of Harry, short with curves and straight blonde hair down to the middle of her back. Her uncle worked for X Factor and she had been visiting him during a performance One Direction was giving. 

Sammie had a fiery personality, giving Louis' sharp tongue a run for his money. When he bumped into her, literally, he had taken a liking to her immediately. He invited her back to their dressing room, hoping to impress his bandmates with her. 

Louis recalled this meeting very well. It had been the first time he had seen Harry be... different, when being introduced to a fan. Sure, the then nineteen year old had been polite, saying hello and stood with the other boys as Louis walked in with her, but something was off, more awkward than usual. 

Usually Harry went to hug someone when greeting them. He was a touchy-feely hugger by nature. It had been one of the first qualities that Louis had noticed and grew to love quickly. 

Louis spent the brief time before their performance joking around and tugging on Sammie's long locks, trying to ignore the not-so-subtle glances Harry was throwing at him. Louis became a little antsy, eager to have his friends like her. 

When it came time for the boys to perform, Harry hung back, waiting to walk up to the stage with Louis like usual. Sammie had smiled and said her goodbyes, and began to walk back in the direction of her uncle. 

Louis called out to her, causing both Sammie and Harry to stop and turn to look at the blue eyed boy. Louis asked for her to stick around so they could maybe go grab a bite to eat after their performance. 

Sammie nodded and smiled, a new pep in her step. Louis mirrored her excitement, turning to continue on to the stage. He stopped short though when he saw the crestfallen expression on his best friend's face. 

Louis put his hand out to touch Harry's shoulder when the younger boy pulled away, turning and running back into the dressing room mumbling about having forgotten something.

Louis was about to continue on to his original destination, taking a few steps towards his other bandmates, when a buzzing feeling within him told Louis to follow Harry.

Louis opened the door to the dressing room slowly, worry seeping into his face as he thought about Harry's odd behavior. The glares, the quietness and the weird sad look that overtook the younger boy's face just now. It just wasn't Harry, not his Harry. 

He called out his curly haired friend's name only to have his words seemingly falling on deaf ears. Closing the door behind him, Louis took another few steps into the room before he gasped. 

Curled in a tiny ball on the side of the couch opposite the door was Harry, sweat beading on his forehead and a rocking motion so hard Harry was hitting the back of his head on the arm of the couch.

Louis dropped to the floor, crawling closer to his friend. He said his name again, reaching out for the younger boy. 

Louis had helped Harry all throughout the X Factor competition, when he would have bad days where the anxiety seemed to control the younger boy entirely. 

When they dormed together as a band in the X Factor house as the weeks of performances came and went the other boys would more often than not find Harry curled up in Louis' bed, holding on to the blue eyed boy for dear life.

More often than not, those nights would turn into champagne kisses and wandering hands as the band stayed each week, celebrating another round won. 

The panic attacks began to lessen. The two boys began to spend more time with each other, Harry had never been happier. 

Looking at Harry now, curled into himself, a small whimper escaped his thin pressed lips. Louis whispered the younger one's name, holding out his arms for the boy to climb into. Louis' fingers weaved their way into Harry's curls as soon as the younger boy was seated in his lap.

They were late to perform by 32 minutes. 

{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}

"Harry, love, don't think about her. We were just talking. Just chattin' a bit, ya?" Louis ran his fingers through his hair, brushing it out of his eyes. 

A gurgled noise came through the phone speaker, causing Louis to momentarily stop him in his tracks. "Haz? Ya still with me?"

Louis received no response. He was able to picture what Harry was currently doing though. Harry always tried his best to be a silent crier. More than likely he had his hand covering his mouth, trying his little heart out to keep the sobs inside. 

Louis reached the bottom of the stairs and to a couple of closed doors. Trying the first door he came to, Louis turned the handle and pushed. The large cream door didn't budge.

As the blue eyed boy reached the second door he expected the door to stay closed as well. So when the door swung open and he fell forwards into darkness, he let out a gasping "Fuck!" as Louis tried to regain his balance. 

Light spilled in from behind him. Reaching out to his left then his right, Louis felt around the doorframe to find a lightswitch. When he came across it, he flicked it on. 

Immediately blinded by the light, he grabbed for his face, covering his squinty eyes. He called out for his younger bandmate, "Harry? You in here?"

The room was rather large, seemingly a storage space for kitchen equipment. Long metal prep tables were lined up in rows, stacks of chairs covered one wall and tall racks for trays were slotted into every available spot.

Rounding one end of a prep table, Louis heard a scuffle. He squatted down so he could easily look through the shelves on the tables and spotted a hunched figure. Long hair and a plain white tshirt was all he was able to see.

Louis hustled over to the crouched boy, holding his arm out to touch Harry's back. The other boy jumped, face rising up for Louis to see and immediately feeling his heart break into pieces.

Tear tracks stained the rosy cheeks, eyes wet and looking very green against the bloodshot whites of his eyes. Harry took one jagged breath in before falling forwards into Louis' waiting arms. 

The dam broke on Harry's facade, as miserable as he looked, he sounded ten times worse as Louis collected the younger boy into his lap.

Pressing the younger lad's face into his neck, Louis began to rock back and forth, carding his fingers through the other's long locks. He pressed small kisses into the cheekbone and the shell of Harry's ear, skin damp and on fire.

"It's alright, love, I've got ya now. You're okay, you're okay, you're safe. Everything's gonna be alright. I've got ya, babe, I've got ya." Louis murmured, the tingly feeling of relief washing over him and he continued rocking Harry. 

Minutes passed by as Louis repeated himself, reassuring the younger lad that everything was alright. Louis tilted the boy's body away from him for a moment. Trying to peer down at Harry, he watched as fear ripped through the younger one's features and Harry flung himself at the older boy.

"N-n-no! Pl-plea-please, no!" Harry stuttered, grabbing for Louis, chest heaving, eyes wide and forehead pulled taut. 

Louis held onto the taller boy's face, a hand on each cheek and pressed their foreheads together. "Baby, deep breaths, that's it. Stay with me, big one in, slow one out."

Louis stayed glued to the younger boy's face until the short bursts of Harry's chest slowed down. Louis pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead and hugged him tightly. He could feel the sweat dampening the tshirt under his fingertips. 

Pushing the hair out of Harry's face, Louis watched the younger close his eyes and lean into solid pressure of the blue eyed boy's hand. 

"Harry, you're not going anywhere that I am not, ya hear me? You and me, baby..." Louis paused, waiting for Harry to finish the line of the song.

"We're stuck like glue." Harry whispered, wiping his cheek on the older boy's shoulder as he wiggled closer.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

"Hello?"

"Lou! Where are you?!" Liam questioned, the stress in his voice evident by the elevation of his sentence.

"With Harry." Louis' sentences clipped and short.

"Oh thank god. I've just spent the last two hours running around trying to find him. Why the bloody hell didn't you call to tell me you found him? What the fuck, mate?" Liam grumbled.

"Sorry, man. I've had my hands full."

Louis could hear Liam sigh and quieted down. A moment passed by before he asked, "Well, you going to come out of hiding with him or what? We've got rehearsals in... like... a half hour or so."

"Yeah... we will. Soon, I've got to wake him up. Little lad fell asleep in me arms. They're dead, don't know how I managed to shimmy me phone out to answer yer call." Louis chuckled.

"Yeah, alright. Well, wake the youngin' and find your way back to civilization please, preferably before Paul comes to yell at me again for causing a ruckus backstage."

Louis laughed softly, "You? Causin trouble? Never!"

Liam joined him in laughing and ended the phone call with a quick goodbye.

Louis placed his iPhone down by his side and took a deep breath. He brought his hand up to rub Harry's back, creating small circles and gradually getting bigger.

"Hey, love, its time to wake up. Thats it, open those pretty green eyes of yours." Louis is talking softly into Harry's messy mane of curls.

Harry begins to stir, a deep sigh seeping into the otherwise quiet room. He stretches like a kitten, long limbs reaching out, nearly knocking the older boy in the face.

Harry turns quickly when he hears a chuckle come from behind him, still not fully awake and aware of his surroundings. "Where're we?" He mumbles, eyes blinking owlishly.

Louis presses a kiss to Harry's worried forehead, gaining a raised eyebrow from the taller lad. "Whats that for?" Harry questions, not waiting for an answer to his previous inquiry before asking another. 

"Just because. You looked like you needed one. And," Louis added on, "we are in some room backstage downstairs. Not quite sure exactly, I wasn't really paying attention when I was racing to find ya."

Louis stood up next to Harry and brushed off his pants. 

"Oh, right. Um, thank you for that." Harry gulped, brushing his hair out of his face and tousled the ends on one side. A tiny frown shown on his mouth before he stood up and took a deep breath. 

"Guess we have to get back to the dressing rooms, I'm sure Sammie will be looking for you." The younger boy said, forcing a smile. 

Louis raised one eyebrow. "What? She's not even here, she's in South America on some study abroad program for uni."

Harry froze. "Really?" 

Louis raised his arms and placed a hand on each of the taller boy's shoulders. "Babe? Did you have a panic attack because you thought I was going to see her?"

Harry's cheeks burned bright and his eyes turned glossy, emotions akin to a rollercoaster after an exhausting afternoon. 

When Harry didn't speak Louis tried to hold back his smile as he leaned in to give the taller one a bear hug while squealing, "Awwww, Haz, did you think she was going to show up? That's kinda cute, but also a little worrisome."

Harry's blush spread, rolling down his cheeks and neck. "I just... Um, I'm not sure how to um.... I'm sorry. I fucked up. I just got caught up and didn't even bother to check and get my facts straight. And I made you worry over nothing." 

Louis had been in the process of talking on the phone with her, talking of flight times and giving advice to Sammie for her return flight home, which was still over a week away. 

"I've told you time and time again, Haz, talk to me when you're feeling like this. I'll always make time for you, even if she was coming out here, it's always going to be you and me, babe, eh?" Louis leans in and presses a quick kiss to Harry's head. 

The blush that consumes Harry's cheeks makes Louis smile cheekily. "We're stuck like glue."


End file.
